a. Here we found Ackbau haranguing the victims,
and describing to them the tortures they would shortly be called upon
to suffer. One of the captives had been prepared for the sacrifice,
and, but for the gravity of his position, his appearance might have
excited mirth. His body was encased in a kind of basket from which his
head, arms, and legs protruded, giving him the appearance of a gigantic
insect. To the top of the basket, or tamgky, to give it its native
name, was attached a rope of flax, the end of which had been thrown
over a branch of one of the trees to the height of about forty feet
from the ground. By command of Ackbau, a file of warriors now began to
pull upon this rope, when the victim was drawn up to the branch over
his head, where Melannie told me he would be allowed to remain until,
in the course of time, the rope rotted away, when the skeleton would
fall to the ground. The object of enclosing the vital parts of the
victim in a basket was that death might come as slowly as possible.
Some would live, so the queen assured me, for many days, during which
time of agony their faces and the exposed parts of their bodies would
be devoured by ants and other venomous insects. Yet Melannie sat
unmoved by the sight of these tortures, and even smiled when the poor
wretch had been drawn up to his awful doom, and cried out in his agony.
For that smile I felt that I could kill her.

Unable to control myself in the presence of such barbarities, I
abruptly left the place of execution and began to ascend the mountain,
at the foot of which the sacrifices were made, which I could see was
the cause of a commotion among the natives. As none offered to stay me,
however, I continued my way up the steep sides, which I found to be
composed of rocks and scoria, with occasional patches of coarse grass.
Among the slag of metals between the crevices of the rocks I unearthed
a number of gems, though none so large as those which Melannie had
given me, which I added to the collection I carried in a belt I had
made for the purpose. I knew it was unlikely these bits of coloured
crystal would ever be of value to me, but I carried them in the hope
that some day I might be rescued, when I would return home possessed of
the wealth I had coveted, and which I had risked my life to obtain.

As I explored the mountain I could hear the rumbling of the volcanic
fire within, while as I proceeded a rain of fine dust descended, making
further progres